The Aquitanian is, in the ICS'

geologic timescale The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochr ...

, the oldest age or lowest

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

in the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

. It spans the time between 23.03 ± 0.05 Ma and 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago) during the

Early Miocene The Early Miocene (also known as Lower Miocene) is a sub-epoch of the Miocene epoch (geology), Epoch made up of two faunal stage, stages: the Aquitanian age, Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages. The sub-epoch lasted from 23.03 ± 0.05 annum, Ma to ...

. It is a dry, cooling period. The Aquitanian succeeds the Chattian (the youngest age of the Oligocene) and precedes the

Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian, the Burdigalian was the first and longest w ...

. The Aquitanian Age overlaps with the

Harrisonian The Harrisonian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 24,800,000 to 20,600,000 years BP, a period of . It is usual ...

Agenian The Agenian age is a period of geologic time (23.8–20 Ma) within the Miocene used more specifically with European Land Mammal Ages. It follows the Orleanian age and overlaps the Aquitanian and Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic ...

Pareora Pareora is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located close to State Highway 1, which bypasses the western edge of the town, and close to the Pacific Ocean coast, five kilometres north of Saint Andrews and 10 kilometres sou ...

Landon Landon is a personal name of English origin that means "long hill". It is a variant of Langdon. Landon became popular in the United States in the 1990s, and by 2010 had become the 32nd most popular name for boys.Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and was introduced in scientific literature by Swiss stratigrapher Karl Mayer-Eymar in 1858. The base of the Aquitanian (also the base of the Miocene

Series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

and the Neogene System) is defined as the place in the

stratigraphic column A stratigraphic column is a representation used in geology and its subfield of stratigraphy to describe the vertical location of rock units in a particular area. A typical stratigraphic column shows a sequence of sedimentary rocks, with the oldest ...

at the first appearance of

foram Foraminifera (; Latin for "hole bearers"; informally called "forams") are single-celled organisms, members of a phylum or class of amoeboid protists characterized by streaming granular ectoplasm for catching food and other uses; and commonly a ...

species ''Paragloborotalia kugleri'', the extinction of calcareous

nanoplankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a cruc ...

species ''Reticulofenestra bisecta'' (which forms the base of nanoplankton

biozone In biostratigraphy, biostratigraphic units or biozones are intervals of geological strata that are defined on the basis of their characteristic fossil taxa, as opposed to a lithostratigraphic unit which is defined by the lithological properties ...

NN1), and the base of magnetic chronozone C6Cn.2n. The official

GSSP A Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) is an internationally agreed upon reference point on a stratigraphic section which defines the lower boundary of a stage on the geologic time scale. The effort to define GSSPs is conducted ...

for the Aquitanian Stage lies in the Lemme-Carrosio section near the small village of

Carrosio Carrosio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 468 and an area of .All dem ...

(north of Genoa) in northern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

.The Aquitanian GSSP was established by Steininger ''et al.'' (1997) The top of the Aquitanian Stage (the base of the Burdigalian) is at the first appearance of

species ''Globigerinoides altiaperturus'' and the top of magnetic chronozone C6An.

References

Footnotes

Literature

*; 2004: ''A Geologic Time Scale 2004'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...

. *; 1858: ''Versuch einer neuen Klassifikation der Tertiär-Gebilde Europa’s'', Verhandlungen der Schweizerischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft 17–19 (August 1857), p. 70–71 & 165–199. *; 1997: ''The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Neogene'', Episodes 20(1), p. 23-28.

External links

GeoWhen Database - AquitanianNeogene timescale
at the website of the subcommission for stratigraphic information of the ICS
Neogene timescale
at the website of the Norwegian network of offshore records of geology and stratigraphy {{coord, 44.6589, N, 8.8364, E, source:wikidata, display=title *01 Miocene geochronology Geological ages